Nature In The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

The Equilibrium of the Natural World and of Man

It is beyond the shadow of a doubt that in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the natural world has a great deal of power. This is obvious and is seen many times throughout the story, occasions where the natural world dominating man. There is a very clear give and take relationship between the spirits of nature and the physical world. Any action from man will warrant a consequence from nature. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the tale of the mariner learning that the natural world has a soul of sorts, and needs to be treated with respect. We will explain this by looking at different examples of this throughout the story. The first being the several times where the natural world seems to almost be a character itself, seen through its interactions with the mariner. The second being the times when the ancient mariner respects the natural world, his actions are always met with harsh retribution. Finally, the third will be when the power, as well as the fairness of the natural world is seen when the mariner treats the natural world with some kindness and respect, and is finally given a little peace as a thank you.

There are times where …show more content…
There is a very clear give and take relationship that is established between the two. He successfully makes it seem like the natural world is an actual character in the story, interacting with the mariner and his crew. He shows how the spirits of the nature react to being mistreated, as well as their fairness when it comes to forgiving the mariner later on in the story. The mariner was pardoned for his crime, but will continue to teach the importance and beauty of nature to those who need to hear it. Through the rime of the ancient mariner, we learn that the natural world is a powerful and just